Polarized Politics Puts Big Tent Churches In Tight Spot

Sally Dyck, bishop of the Northern District of Illinois for the United Methodist Church, recently talked to a congregation in Normal about the biblical background of scriptures and what they have to say about women.

United Methodist Church

It's a difficult time in the United States for a lot of big tent mainline religious denominations who have members across the wide breadth of the political spectrum.

In this divisive political time, religious leaders struggle to address the entirety of their membership and to resolve tensions over political discourse, the treatment of women and LGBTQ issues.

The Hebrew scriptures are filled with stories of women who save the day, Dyck said. That includes Rahab, who saved the spies who went into the promised land, she said.

“They’re the ones who’ve insisted, persisted, and sometimes resisted the powers that be in bringing about justice or saving the people,” Dyck said.

There’s a long tradition of activism in the United Methodist Church. Methodism founder John Wesley believed that even when disagree, we can “join hands on the things we can” agree on, Dyck said.

What can the United Methodist Church do to help restore civility in public discourse?

“When we hear leaders of our nation calling other people in other countries names, it’s easily permeating into local churches. So we have to keep working on that. That’s not who we are when we come together as Christians,” Dyck said on GLT’s Sound Ideas. “We do need to make sure we’re being Christian first, no matter what our political persuasion might be.”

Listen to Dyck’s full interview on GLT’s Sound Ideas below:

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4:54

An excerpt of GLT's interview with Sally Dyck.

You can also hear the full interview:

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19:46

GLT's interview with Sally Dyck.

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